The Vice Index and the State of Retail Spending

Spending on vices wasn’t very strong in December, a sign that overall consumer spending was weak, according to the latest reading of the Vice Index from SouthBay Research’s Andrew Zatlin.

“The Vice Index for December points to stable but subdued consumer spending,” Mr. Zatlin wrote in a note to clients, predicting that retail sales were down 0.1% in December from November’s numbers (the Census Bureau releases is report for December’s spending on Jan. 14).